第49章 养猪人 The Swineherd (第2/9页)

r caskets, and sent to her.

皇帝让人把它们带进一个大厅，公主正在那里和宫廷里的贵妇们玩 “串门” 的游戏；当她看到装着礼物的盒子时，高兴得拍起手来。

the Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the princess was playing at “Visiting,” with the ladies of the court; and when she saw the casters with the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.

“啊，要是只是一只小猫咪就好了！” 她说；但那棵带着美丽玫瑰的玫瑰树映入了眼帘。

“Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!” said she; but the rose tree, with its beautiful rose came to view.

“哦，做得多漂亮啊！” 所有的宫廷贵妇们都说。

“oh, how prettily it is made!” said all the court ladies.

“它可不只是漂亮，” 皇帝说，“它太迷人了！”

“It is more than pretty,” said the Emperor, “it is charming!”

但是公主摸了摸它，差点就哭出来了。

but the princess touched it, and was almost ready to cry.

“呸，爸爸！” 她说。

“Fie, papa!” said she.

“这根本不是人造的，它是天然的！”

“It is not made at all, it is natural!”

“在我们发脾气之前，先看看另一个盒子里装的是什么吧。” 皇帝说。

“Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get into a bad humor,” said the Emperor.

于是夜莺飞了出来，唱得如此动听，一开始没人能说出任何难听的话来。

So the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her.

“太棒了！太迷人了！” 贵妇人们叫道；因为她们都习惯说法语，而且一个比一个说得差。

“Superbe! charmant!” exclaimed the ladies; for they all used to chatter French, each one worse than her neighbor.

“这只鸟让我想起了我们已故皇后的那台八音盒。” 一位老骑士说。

“how much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed Empress,” said an old knight.